


Merry Christmukkwanzastice

by DarkwingDukat (pushingcrazies)



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Multi, Open Relationships, POV Stan, Reddie, Stenbrozier, core four losers, one brief mention of child death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21865387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pushingcrazies/pseuds/DarkwingDukat
Summary: Some Christmas (and Hanukkah!) fluff featuring Stenbrozier with a side of Reddie.Secret Santa present for fangirl-imagines on Tumblr.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Merry Christmukkwanzastice

**Author's Note:**

> My Secret Santa recipient requested Stenbrozier or Reddie or Benverly so I said why not all of the above (Benverly only briefly mentioned).

**Christmas Eve - 7:45 PM**

It was dark outside and had been for hours. The Maine wind blew stinging and sharp outside, rattling the windows with occasional gusts. The apartment itself was warm and cozy, dark except for the flickering light of the half-lit menorah and the glow of the television playing some Christmas movie Stan only vaguely knew about. He had seen it once years ago, perhaps in an elementary classroom where it was assumed every child celebrated Christmas and was eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival. Or maybe the movie had so saturated popular media that Stan only felt like he had seen it. Either way, it was familiar enough to bring a sense of nostalgia to Stan as he sat watching it with his boyfriends, yet unfamiliar enough that he was actually paying attention - unlike Richie and Bill.

Bill was sitting on the floor, wrapping some last minute gifts, occasionally glancing up at the television screen. They had a rather large television for a bunch of poor college students, thanks to Richie’s half-obsessive video gaming. For his last birthday, Stan, Bill, and Richie’s other boyfriend, Eddie, had chipped in together to buy him the 40-inch flatscreen monstrosity on sale. But Richie was barely looking at the screen right now, even though he was curled up next to Stan on the couch.

“Eddie’s not answering my texts,” Richie whined.

Stan closed his eyes to forestall the inevitable rolling. “He’s at Mass with his mom, dork.”

Richie dramatically splayed out across Stan’s lap. “Mass doesn’t start until  _ midnight _ , Stanno. That’s why it’s called  _ midnight mass _ .”

Stan flicked at Richie’s nose, which turned out to be a bad call because Richie then tried to bite at Stan’s fingers. He was worse than an untrained pup. “He’s spending the whole evening with her,  _ Richard _ . Do you think he’s going to answer texts from his boyfriend around his homphobic mom who doesn’t even like you?”

Richie scrambled back into a sitting position, affronted, Stan’s fingers forgotten. “Sonia Kaspbrak fucking  _ loves _ me.”

“Sh-she did until she f-f-ound out y-you’re dating h-h-her precious b-ba-ba-baby,” Bill said. “You’re a bad i-influence.”

Richie sunk into the couch. “I’ll win her back over. I’m a fucking delight.” He cast one last forlorn look at his phone and sighed dramatically.

Stan cast a covert look at Bill, who gave a tiny shrug and half-smile. They loved Richie and supported his additional relationship with Eddie, but they hated when Richie would get stressed out or anxious about something that was happening with him. Well, Stan hated it. Bill said he hated it too, but sometimes Bill had more trouble seeing the difference between Richie being Dramatic and Richie being in real pain.

Richie, Stan, Bill, and Eddie had been close friends almost instantaneously. They were part of the same orientation group, had several classes together their first semester, and had been close neighbors all Freshman year. Richie and Stan had actually been roommates that first year. Maybe that was why Stan had a better instinct for Richie’s emotional outbursts than Bill. On the other hand, Bill and Eddie, while not actual roommates, were clearly best friends. They had done pretty much everything together, even scheduling classes at the same time if not the same actual class, so that they had a lot of free time together.

The four of them had other friends, too, but for the most part they made up the solid core of friendship that entire year. Beverly, Ben, and Mike drifted in and out around them, sometimes sleeping on someone’s floor or sharing a narrow dorm bed after a late night study session. Yet Stan hadn’t felt the strange magnetic pull he had with the others. Somewhere towards the end of their Freshman year he realized what the pull was telling him: he was falling in love with his friends.

He honestly didn’t know who he was more attracted to - Richie with his uncanny ability to make Stan feel better no matter how upset he might get, Bill with his sweet dimples and willingness to make decisions where the others faltered, or Eddie with his fierce loyalty and clever mind. He wanted to ask one (all) of them out, but indecision held him back. What if his feelings were only passing? What if he asked Richie out but then developed deeper feelings for Bill? Or vice versa? What if he ended up just bouncing from one to the next until they all hated him for being attracted to so many people at once?

When Stan tried to pinpoint the exact sequence of events that led to Richie, Bill, and himself dating at the very end of Freshman year, things got a little murky. A soft touch - a brush of a hand through hair - a hug that lingered too long - the three of them holding onto each other during one of the most frightening and disgusting movies Stan had ever seen, with Richie  _ insisting _ it was a cinematic masterpiece. Eddie wasn’t there for that movie, having been able to steadfastly resist Richie’s cajoling in a way that only he could. And somehow at some point the holding became caressing became fondling became  _ oh god yes that right there _ with no awkward morning after, just a shared shy grin and a budding understanding.

It was enough for Stan and Bill. Stan still harbored a tiny crush on Eddie, especially when he got excited about something. When Eddie got excited, his whole face lit up. It was enough to make anyone smitten. But while Stan wished they could convince Eddie to join in their little…  _ whatever  _ they had together, he could see the reticence, the nervousness in Eds’ eyes when he saw the three of them holding hands. After a few tentative inquiries to gauge Eddie’s interest, Stan and Bill dropped the idea of bringing him into their relationship. He wasn’t interested or ready or  _ something _ and that was perfectly okay.

Except it wasn’t okay for Richie.

Stan hadn’t realized until that point just how deeply Richie had fallen in love with Eddie. As fun and new and exciting as his relationship with Stan and Bill was, there was always a part of him that was never fully engaged. That was the part of him that belonged entirely to Eddie. He denied it, he deflected, he tried to throw them off - but they couldn’t ignore the evidence forever. Richie was in love with Eddie. Richie was in a relationship with Bill and Stan. Eddie did not want to be in that same relationship. Richie needed to make a decision fast, before someone got their feelings hurt beyond repair.

Except...maybe he didn’t. The answer was so clear, so obvious, that Stan could have smacked himself for not seeing it earlier. What if Richie dated Eddie separate from dating Stan and Bill? Richie’s eyes nearly popped when Stan suggested it. “Are you sure?” he kept asking over and over again. Bill gave it some serious thought but in the end he nodded.

The only thing left for Richie, then, was to convince Edward “I’m not gay” Kaspbrak on a date. It took surprisingly little persuasion, but Stan supposed that was Richie’s charm at work. Richie and Eddie might go around and around like a couple of squirrels when they were in the mood, but the electricity between them was undeniable. He still insisted he wasn’t gay, which was fair enough in Stan’s opinion. Stan had met a wonderful, intelligent woman in his Advanced Calculus class and now that his relationship with Richie and Bill had an official open precedent, he was thinking about asking her out. He was getting to know Patricia - Patty - through a mutual study group, and he had the feeling she wouldn’t freak out at the idea of a potential boyfriend already being in a relationship. Well, he hoped she was that cool. Either way, he himself definitely was not gay, so he understood where Eddie was coming from.

Richie and Eddie had been going out for nearly two months now, and the others had been in a triad for several months before that. There were occasionally squabbles, but for the most part they were able to work things out and live together in harmony. Richie, Bill, and Stan shared a two-bedroom apartment where Stan and Bill had one bedroom and Richie had the other for the nights that Eddie stayed over. About half the time he ended up sleeping with Stan and Bill anyway in their secondhand queen-sized bed (Richie had been begging for a California King for ages - he was always overruled on account of money and the fact that they didn’t have any).

Their shared life was pretty ideal, Stan felt.

Until Richie got into one of his Moods.

He had been whining about Eddie and Sonia for nearly twenty minutes while Bill finished his wrapping. By the time Bill set aside the last present, Stan had had enough. He was patient with Richie’s drama. He understood how much it must hurt to be in a relationship with a man who couldn’t welcome you into his family. But even his patience had a tipping point.

Richie was in the middle of listing all the reasons he would make a wonderful son-in-law for Sonia when Bill slid up onto the couch to join them and Stan decided to put an end to the moaning - or possibly turn it into a different type of moaning altogether. He grabbed Richie’s face and forced him to look at him. “Richie,” he said softly and firmly. “You are a great guy and should make any mother happy you’re dating her son. My mother likes you, and so does Bill’s. Sonia is a royal bitch -” Stan didn’t swear as often as his the others, so when he did they always paid extra careful attention - “and I’m sorry she can’t see what a gift you are.” He leaned in to place a soft kiss on Richie’s lips.

A slow grin spread across Richie’s lips as Stan pulled back. “If I’m a gift and seeing as how it’s Christmas Eve and everything, does that mean you’re going to unwrap me and play with me?”

Bill choked on laughter behind Richie. Stan barely batted an eye. He was getting more and more immune to Richie’s terrible innuendo. “Sorry, babe. I’m Jewish.”

Bill and Richie both burst into laughter at that. “Stanley Uris gets off a good one,” Richie gasped between peals. “Stan the Man, that was  _ priceless _ .” He grabbed Stan by the back of his neck and pulled him in for another, more heated kiss.

On Richie’s other side, Bill shifted to get a better look and gauge how this might go. Stan reached a hand out to Bill’s thigh and gave it a squeeze to let him know  _ exactly _ how this was going to go.

When Richie and Stan broke their kiss, Stan stood up. “Bedroom.” He did not want to get their couch all messy. Again. 

Bill and Richie followed obediently, kissing and caressing on the way. It wasn’t long before all three of them were “unwrapped” and ready to play.

\---

Stan woke early the next morning, an ingrained habit from years of early school start times and just naturally being a morning person. As he stretched, he noticed two things: Richie was no longer on his right and there was a new weight at his feet. When he prodded the weight with his toes to investigate, it fell off the end of the bed with a thump. Bill stirred next to him.

“Good morning,” Stan murmured. Bill gave him a sleepy kiss. “Where’s Richie?”

Bill pointed at the second bedroom. “Eh-eh-Eddie’s here, too. Came in some time before two.”

Stan shuffled closer to Bill and wrapped his arms around him. “How do you know that?”

Bill pointed to the end of the bed where the thump had sounded. “Because I w-w-woke up at two to d-do that.”

Curious, Stan got out of bed to investigate the weight. It was a stocking crammed full of candy and knickknacks. Stan’s eyes went wide. He’d never had a stocking before.

“I know y-you’re J-Jewish,” Bill said, looking a little uncertain. “B-but I hope you d-don’t mind. I h-haven’t had someone to open st-st-stockings with since juh-juh-juh-Georgie.”

Poor Georgie, Bill’s little brother who had died years before Stan could have gotten the chance to meet him. “I don’t mind at all,” Stan said softly. He crawled back onto the bed and gave Bill a kiss. “Thank you.”

Bill had given himself one as well so that they could open the stockings together. Bill had also gotten one for Richie, but he’d be sleeping for several more hours unless one of the others forced him to wake up. Stan grinned at the silly little toys, stickers, candies, and figurines that Bill had stuffed into the overgrown sock. There was even a dreidel, chocolate gelt, and a brand new box of menorah candles. Hanukkah overlapped with Christmas this year, and Richie and Bill had been eager to learn more about the holiday as they watched Stan light the candles and say the blessings. Stan couldn’t wait to teach them how to play dreidel and win some money off of them.

As nice as it was to be cuddled up with Bill, surrounded by all their little toys, eventually the pull of the day ahead nagged at Stan’s mind. They had plans to visit Richie’s parents in the morning, Bill’s parents in the afternoon, and then - as if that wasn’t enough - they’d offered to have a little Christmas party in the evening for their closest friends. Beverly Marsh didn’t have a family she wanted to visit for the holidays, Ben Hanscom’s mom had to work, and Mike Hanlon said he would go crazy if he had to spend his entire holiday break on his parents’ farm. Stan made a mental note to hang plenty of mistletoe around the apartment so that - with a little cunning and luck - Ben might finally make his move with Bev. And maybe Mikey too…

Stan snuggled against Bill, turning to place a random kiss on his shoulder. There was a lot to do and they needed to get moving soon, but for now he was happy to cuddle for another five minutes before dragging Richie out of bed and dumping him in the shower to wake up. Stan just wanted to bask in this comfort for a little while longer.

“Thank you, Bill,” he murmured against Bill’s shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Bill whispered back. He never stuttered when he said those words to Stan or Richie. Not once.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Happy Christmukkuh,” Bill said with a giggle. “And when Mike gets here it’ll be Happy Christmukkwanza.”

“I think Bev celebrates the solstice,” Stan deadpanned. “Shouldn’t you throw that in there, too?”

“Happy Chr-Christmukkwanzastice,” Bill said carefully and slowly, making sure he got every syllable correct.

Before Stan could tell Bill what a dork he was being, Richie slammed into the room at top speed. Stan yelped in surprise. Richie never got up this early unless he had been up all night, was horny, or made the fatal mistake of scheduling an 8:00 AM class. “Thanks, Bill,” Richie yelled, launching himself at the person in question. Stan just barely got out of the way of the stocking Richie clutched in his hand.

Eddie trailed behind and lingered in the doorway looking dead exhausted. Stan waved at him. “Did you get any sleep?” he asked over Richie’s babbling about the random stuff Bill had given him.

Eddie shuffled closer, perched on the edge of the bed. “A little,” he said. “I didn’t expect Richie to wake up at ass o’clock. Apparently he has an internal Christmas alarm that lets him know when presents are around.”

“IT’S CHRISTMAS,” Richie announced, as if they didn’t already know. “No one sleeps in on Christmas.”

“He’s going to be a nightmare tomorrow,” Stan stage-whispered to Eddie.

“I g-got something for y-you, too,” Bill told Eddie before Richie could make a smart comeback. “I h-hope you don’t m-mind.”

Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Really? Aw, thanks, Bill.”

Bill disappeared to retrieve Eddie’s present from under the tree, leaving Richie to do his best to get comfortable among the strewn stocking contents. Stan had a feeling they’d be finding knickknacks in random places for weeks. He didn’t care. Right now, surrounded by the best family he could have asked for, a tornado could have ripped the place apart and he wouldn’t have batted an eyelash. For one day they could forget about any drama or stress or snarking and just...exist. Together. Loved.

Life was good.

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this and wanted to do more but ran out of time... I might write more in the 'verse in the future. We'll see!


End file.
